Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, does anyone have ideas on how to keep crickets in the collareds cage without the crickets being able to hide under the rocks from them? I was thinking of possibly using pvc pipe or something similar to attach to a base and then put a large flat rock on top. That way the collareds have a second story that the crickets can't climb on. I'm not sure if pvc will keep the crickets off and it probably won't look nice but I don't know what else to try. Any suggestions?

Well first of all I'm not sure why you want to keep crickets in the cage with your lizards. That doesn't seem like the best plan. I've heard stories of crickets taking a bite out of a lizard.

I wouldn't put it past crickets to be able to climb PVC.

I've heard of people putting a small ceramic dish down in the sand with some veggies it in for loose crickets to fall in and get stuck so they don't start chewing on your lizards.

Anytime that I have left over crickets in the enclosure I always put fresh fruit and a dry dog food piece in the cage to make sure the crickets have something to eat. I have heard that crickets will bite the lizards too and that is why I'm trying to find a way to keep the crickets in the enclosure but give the collards space to avoid them when they are not feeding. I have five collareds in the same 75 gal enclosure with many hides, rocks and crawling spaces. Around mid day I take almost everything out so the collareds can find any hiding crickets and leave it that way for a few hours. It would be more convient and sanitary if I could leave a few crickets in the enclosure at all times without having to take everything out. I have tried feeding my lizards in a separate tank with crickets but they seemed more freaked out and did not eat much. I think they are happier feeding in their own home.

I have also read of cautionary tales about not leaving crickets in with the lizards. However, I have never had a problem with my lizards being bitten by crickets, and I don't go to any extraordinary lengths to remove uneaten crickets from the cage.

I think if your lizards are robust and healthy, it should not be a problem.

That's just my experience, and my humble opinion . . .

élan
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5.6.0 Collareds
1.2.0 Leopard Lizards
1.0.0 Mali Uromastix
1.2.0 Green Anole
1.0.0 Chinese Dwarf Newt
1.0.0 White's Treefrog
1.0.0 Fire bellied toad
1.0.0 Treefrog (Alabama native)
Even More Felines
1.3.0 Canines
1.0.0 Equine

Have you tried feeding them something else thats bigger and easier to remove? I feed mine grass hoppers which are nutritionally far more beneficial than crickets. They are also silent, and they are easy to find and remove at the end of the day. They are slow moving when not hopping and dont try to squish themselves into small crevices and holes.

Apart from this they will most likely excite your lizards and feeding time will often become a frenzy. Mine get excited, with tails twitching as soon as they see the carton, another thread from yesterday tells ya where you can order them online

Thanks, trying grasshoppers sounds like a good idea. I also want to try roaches but I'll have the same problem as the roaches will hide too. My husband wants to start a breeding colony of roaches since the crickets have a strong odor. I myself hate roaches and would much rather feed the grasshoppers since they don't gross me out

Well I think you got the right idea, roaches make my skin crawl too! Fortunately for me the only ones we can get here in the UK are the fancy ones that people keep as PETS (Very strange people!!). Good luck with the hoppers mine go crazy for em.

Being from Texas...I can say if roaches bother you you might want to avoid breeding them. If they get out they're a pain to get rid of...Anyway...about the crickets, Sage (my collared) has never had a problem with crickets biting him. There are often a few left overs that hide somewhere and usually the next morning he munches on them as a snack.
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0.1 Black Lab Mix (Josie)
2.0 Cocketiels (Sparky and Fallon)
3.3 Finches (Rebel, Without a Cause (WC), Bullet, Revolution, Patriot (Pat), and Black Beak)
2.1 Fish (Plue, Alpha, and Beta)
1.0 Collard Lizard (Sage)